In Racine County, WeatherWatch Chief Meteorologist Mark Baden found a personal banking check that belonged to a Rochelle, Illinois, resident whose home was struck by a tornado last week.

In Racine County, WeatherWatch Chief Meteorologist Mark Baden found a personal banking check that belonged to a Rochelle, Illinois, resident whose home was struck by a tornado last week.

Share

Shares

Copy Link

{copyShortcut} to copy
Link copied!

Updated: 7:34 PM CDT Apr 13, 2015

Hide TranscriptShow Transcript

WEBVTT THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. MEANWHILE, MORE DEBRIS FROM LAST WEEK'S TORNADOES IN ILLINOIS IS NOW SHOWING UP IN WALWORTH, RACINE, AND KENOSHA COUNTY. WISN 12'S CHIEF METEOROLOGIST MARK BADEN FOUND A PERSONAL BANKING CHECK WHILE GOLFING IN RACINE COUNTY. 12 NEWS'S CHRIS GLONINGER TRACKED DOWN THE OWNER IN ROCHELLE SOME 82 MILES AWAY. CHRIS: OPEN FIELDS AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE AFTER THURSDAY NIGHT'S TORNADO MANAGED TO DEVASTATE THIS ROW OF HOUSES IN ROCHELLE ILLINOIS. PILES OF RUBBLE, WHICH BECKY BAILEY SAYS SCATTERED FOR MILES. THERE WAS A BIBLE FOUND OUT HERE IN THIS FIELD, THEY'VE BEEN TRYING TO TRACK IT DOWN. THERE'S BEEN RECORDS OF FAMILIES. CHRIS: SHE MISSED THE TWISTER, BUT HER FRIEND DAVE SCHABACKER WASN'T THAT LUCKY. HIS HOUSE AND EVERYTHING INSIDE, INCLUDING HIS BANK CHECKS, WERE TAKEN BY THE STORM. THIS IS WHERE THAT CHECK ORIGINATED OFF OF HIGHWAY 64 IN ROCHELLE, A STRIP OF FOUR RANCH HOUSES THAT WERE LEVELED, AND WAS FOUND 82 MILES ALWAYS ALONG HIGHWAY 20 IN RACINE COUNTY. BAILEY WAS SHOCKED BY OUR FIND. THAT FAR? YES. THAT'S QUITE A WAYS. CHRIS: WE CALLED DAVE SCHABACKER, WHO IS NOW LIVING WITH FAMILY, AND OUR CALL WASN'T THE FIRST HE'S RECEIVED. I FOUND OUT THAT SOMEBODY ELSE FOUND A CREDIT CARD OF OURS A WAYS AWAY SOMEPLACE. CHRIS: HE'S SURE MOST OF HIS BELONGINGS HE'LL NEVER SEE AGAIN, BUT HE'S THANKFUL HIS FAMILY SURVIVED, WHICH, JUDGING BY WHAT'S LEFT, WASN'T AN EASY TASK. WE GOT ABOUT A 12-MINUTE WARNING THAT IT WAS COMING, MY COUSIN TEXTED ME A PICTURE OF IT, AND WARNED US IT WAS COMING OUR WAY. WE GOT UP TO THE WINDOW AND COULD SEE IT COMING. CHRIS: AS FAR AS THE CHECK? THEY STOPPED USING THAT BANK BACK IN 1998. CHRIS GLONINGER, WISN 12 NEWS. CRAIG: TWO LOCAL RED CROSS VOLUNTEERS ARE IN ILLINOIS TONIGHT. THEY'RE HELPING WITH RECOVERY EFFORTS IN SOME OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS HIT THE HARDEST BY THE TORNADO. THE RED CROSS SAYS THEY'RE BRINGING FOOD AND WATER AND OTHER SUPPLIES NEEDED TO CLEAN UP. BOTH OF THE VOLUNTEERS SAY THEY'VE SEEN THE DEVASTATION, AND THEY'RE READY TO GET TO WORK. IT'S A BLESSING AND IT'S A BLESSING FOR ME AND FOR US, TOO, TO BE ABLE TO HELP. IT'S A LITTLE SPOOKY, IT'S SCARY WHEN YOU SEE PEOPLE WHEN THEY LOSE THE THINGS THAT THEY'VE LOST. CRAIG: YOU CAN ALSO HELP THE TORNADO VICTIMS. THE CEO OF THE LOCAL RED CROSS SAYS THE BEST WAYS TO HELP ARE DONATING MONEY, BLOOD, OR BECOMING A VOLUNTEER. WE HAVE A LINK WITH MORE INFORMATION ON OUR WEBSITE,

Illinois tornado victims' belongings found in Wisconsin

In Racine County, WeatherWatch Chief Meteorologist Mark Baden found a personal banking check that belonged to a Rochelle, Illinois, resident whose home was struck by a tornado last week.